The Good Cop – Bad Cop of Rainforest Preservation

So far the rainforest preservation arguments have all been given by good cops. You know at least some of the arguments for preservation:

Don’t cut down the rainforest because it produces a large percentage of the world’s oxygen supply. This is something that all animals need – including humans.

Don’t cut down the rainforest because it is habitat for as much as 50% of the Earth’s animal and plant species. If biodiversity is important (and it is) cutting down the rainforest is a slap in the face for all people that have argued for biodiversity.

Don’t cut down the rainforest because it hastens climate change. All those trees take out some of the carbon dioxide in the air. Without them global warming is hastened. Especially if you burn those trees down instead of using the wood for other purposes.

Don’t cut down the rainforest because all the possible medicinal plants in the rainforest haven’t been studied well enough yet. This is another cry to keep the biodiversity of the rainforest because we don’t know all the future uses of this rich vegetation.

Don’t cut down the rainforest and expect to farm the underlying land. Without the rainforest, the land readily erodes and is only good for a few years of farming.

Well those are all good cop reasons to leave the rainforest alone. The bad cop reasons can be summed up by naming one country: The United States of America.

The US likes to fight in deserts. It is here where they can use all of their machinery and seemingly on a whim their military can take down whole countries. But really the American military is good anywhere there is farmland or at least no trees. Think how easily tanks can roll without trees. Think how easy it is to bomb targets without the coverage of trees. Think how well all their equipment can move as long as the terrain can support the movement of large wheeled vehicles.

Mountains and rainforests are the nemesis of the American military muscle. Look how tough a time the Americans had in Afghanistan with its mountains. But mostly, realize that the US lost the war in Vietnam because of the rainforest.

Oh, the Americans knew why they were losing. They even developed and used agent orange to defoliate large sections of Vietnam. It wasn’t enough.

So, Columbia, it might be wise to leave the Amazon rainforest alone. You know, in case the United States decides to double down on the war against drugs. Or perhaps the Americans would want to steal some of Brazil’s wealth. The parts where the rainforest has been cut down will be easy for the Americans to take and hold. As for the deforested parts of the African rainforest, don’t give the Americans an excuse like with a genocide. You’ll lose that war.

So the good cops say “Keep your rainforest intact. It’s in the best interests of the world.”

The bad cops are the Americans. And they will do whatever Americans do. Don’t say you weren’t warned.